October 2007 - Posts
Executive vs. Legislative "Democracy," said the French-born, New Zealand historian and surgeon Robert Briffault, "is the worst form of government. It is the most inefficient, the most clumsy, the most unpractical... it reduces wisdom to impotence and secures the triumph of folly, ignorance, clap-trap, and demagogy... yet democracy is the only form of social order admissible, because it is the only one consistent with justice." Mr. Bush evidently stopped listening at the word "ignorance." He is evidently taking us from Democracy to Government-by-Administrative Order. CONTINUED >>
In The Line of Firings Who knew -- when he pushed the "No Child Left Behind Act" -- that President George W. Bush was really looking out... for himself. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the President's petulance against Congress, Democrats, and anybody else he sees thwarting his "id," devolving from last week's buffoonish door-slamming, to a level meriting the use of the word "tantrum." He has accused his critics -- of wasting his time. CONTINUED >>
Primary Stake : In just 77 days, the first votes will be cast in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. Whoops. Make that 66 -- Iowa just moved up the Caucus to January 3. In our fifth story on the Countdown: that means Senator Barack Obama will have to cram eleven days' worth of getting tougher on Hillary Clinton, into a few short hours. CONTINUED >>
Bush Mad : The President of the United States was once analogized to an already-stressed out First Grade Teacher, forced one day to teach a class of kindergartners, and unable to restrain his rage when the younger kids don't obey him. Our fifth story on the Countdown: President Bush, accusing lawmakers of wasting his time... by again passing hugely popular children's health care legislation that he has already vetoed once. Yet with his very next breath... complaining that Congress isn't getting anything done. So in the Kindergarten/First Grade analogy, Mr. Bush can be either the teacher, or any of the students in either of the classes. CONTINUED >>
Keith is back, and we have a great show on tap for tonight. We'll have the latest on the tough talk on Iran, including Vladimir Putin's escalating language and references to the Cuban Missile Crisis as the Sec. of State says the US and Russia are on the same page . We'll have a report on the Washington Post story detailing the FEMA press conference in SoCal where FEMA workers pretended to be reporters, asking FEMA officials questions (calling Jeff Gannon), and this story that isn't that surprising anymore, it's just sad.
Finally, for those of you who didn't see the Taco Bell commercial/World Series game last night...make sure you save room for tacos on Oct. 30. Not everyone is happy .
In The Line of Firings Our fifth story on the Countdown: The Bush administration, once again is beating the drums of war... this time against Iran. And from the "way-back file," Hans Blix, the former chief weapons inspector of the United Nations -- remember him? -- he says President Bush is over-reacting. Meanwhile, President Putin of Russia... says the U-S is painting Iran into a corner. To paraphrase Yogi Berra... could this be Deja Vu all over again? CONTINUED >>
In The Line of Fire It is an awful calculus. The words of one resident of San Diego: "If your house did not burn down, it just means someone else's... did." Our fifth story on the Countdown: The Southern California wildfires... raging for a fourth straight night... the destruction far from its end. State authorities and the F-B-I investigating arson as the cause of at least one of the fires. Calls for an investigation, no doubt imminent, with the re-discovery of two reports which warned last Spring the Bush administration was not adequately prepared to battle the inferno... or. in the carefully-crafted lingo of the White House... even to support those who would be battling the flames. We begin with the latest details on the conflagration. CONTINUED >>
Southern California is Burning Residents of the burnt-out neighborhoods of Southern California where the ravages of the fires are exhausted...Are still only being permitted to return for five minutes at a stretch -- and only if they can prove they left pets or vital medication behind as they fled. Yet, at the White House -- President Bush is already passing the buck of responsibility (if not yet the blame) onto state officials. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the emerging politics of the ultra-disastrous Santa Ana Wildfires of 2007, in a moment. First, the continuing crisis at the fire lines. CONTINUED >>
Day two in New York and do we have a barn burner tonight. Not only do we have Valerie Plame, the former covert CIA agent outed by the Bush administraion, but legendary comedian George Carlin will sit down with Keith. Plus, the latest on the California fires, all the Decision 2008 news, too. This is a can't miss show, folks.
Cashualties of War : "Already long ago," wrote the Roman satirist Juvenal, "from when we sold our vote to no man... "The people have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time... "Handed out military command, high civil office, legions, everything..."Now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things "Bread and Circuses." Our fifth story on the Countdown: we're not even getting the Bread and Circuses from the Bush Administration -- just the bills. Our fifth story on the Countdown: President Bush today all but demanding a 31-percent hike to the annual war budget -- another 46-Billion dollars...Vice President Cheney... all but declaring a third war over the weekend, against Irahn. We begin with the Commander in Chief...CONTINUED >>
The town so nice, they named it twice. The second name is Manhattan. Anyway...here we are in our new digs, and we have a big show tonight.
We'll have all the latest saber rattling over Iran from the President and Mr. Cheney . Plus all the drama of the G.O.P. debate (that was on another network) and the Values Voters convention . Will the Dobson, Robertson folks find anyone they like?
Also...this article suggesting that former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales could face criminal prosecution for his role in those US attorney firings. Gonzales has hired a criminal defense attorney, so this could get interesting.
The latest from those devastating fires in CA, and we're working on some major Harry Potter news that you won't want to miss.
Relative Values Not since 1912, when Theodore Roosevelt renounced his hand-picked successor William Howard Taft, signed on as the Presidential candidate of the so-called "Bull Moose Party," and split the Republican vote so badly that Taft finished third and Woodrow Wilson became the first Democrat in the White House in 16 years, have we faced the **serious** prospect of a third party candidate utterly deranging the electoral vote. Our fifth story on the Countdown: this is the eve of a second meeting by what we can call the Theocratic wing of the Republican party, to try to decide whether or not to break away and run its own "Values Candidate," and -- presumably -- ease the path of a Woodrow Wilson of 2008. CONTINUED >>
(Yeah, it's the wrong river, we may not bring any muskets when we move, and George Washington was going to N.J., but it still kinda works)
In the immortal words of staff favorite Bruce Springsteen, it was bye bye New Jersey... we were airborne. Countdown and the Newshole prepare to leave the Garden State for good after Friday's show. We're movin' up to the east side (by east side we mean mid-town Manhattan....either way the beans don't burn on the grill). With our new digs, (building, set, studio, offices) we're going to have a new graphic look for the show. Same Keith, same Countdown...new coat of paint. There are a few sample images after the jump, we hope you tune in Monday to check it out.
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S-Chip of Fools Are "wins" really that vital to this White House? Are they so few and far between, that a President who threw away the greatest personal support ever afforded a Chief Executive, and threw away a re-election, is so marginalized that he would have a spokesperson characterize denying roughly four million children health care insurance as "we won this round on S-Chip"? Yes. George W. Bush is that bankrupt. CONTINUED >>
Meet the Press: If 76 percent of Americans won't say they approve of President Bush, and a similar number find him no longer relevant, today he tried to force relevancy upon himself, by saying three words no Commander-in-Chief with a history of lying this nation into war, should ever be heard saying , no matter what the context. World War Three. CONTINUED >>
Warrentless Searches Confirmed Overlooked in George Carlin's famed bit about the seven words you can't say on television and the Supreme Court decision based on them -- is the fact that his monologue began with an anecdote from the wiretapping days of F-B-I founder J. Edgar Hoover. "A guy who used to be in Washington," Carlin said, "knew that his phone was tapped. Used to answer, 'Blank' Hoover -- yes? Go ahead." Our fifth story on the Countdown: it may be time to try that again, please select your own updated proper name. The telecom giant Verizon revealing today that since the start of 2005 it has, on 720 separate occasions, turned over its customers' phone records to federal agents who had neither a court order nor a warrant. And Verizon may be the good guys in this latest nightmare. The Slime Machine: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's Communications Director denies he sent internet falsehoods about Graeme Frost and his family to mainstream media outlets... As his e-mail surfaces, in which he sent internet falsehoods about Graeme Frost and his family, to mainstream media outlets. ODDBALL Tirade Caught on Tape As the long long long road to 2008 continues, this helpful reminder for candidates and their campaign teams. If you see a video-camera wielded by someone who disagrees with your politics, odds are whatever you say to them will end up on you-tube. Just keep repeating "You're making a fool of yourself" or something equally monotonous. Our third story on the Countdown, these helpful reminders coming too late for the Chief of Staff of Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg of Michigan. Dog Gone: The sad tale of Ellen's dog takes the leed in tonight's installment of Keeping Tabs. Our nightly look at celebrity and entertainment news. WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD Britney's Booked Britney Spears couldn't turn an appearance at the Video Music Awards into a comeback sensation. She hasn't turned a family court judge to her side, even with Kevin Fedderline as the other party. And she apparently can't turn... having driven her car into another (parked) car back in August. But in our number one story on the Countdown, Ms. Spears can... turn... herself in.
Here are the aftermath pics of the accident that nearly cost Graeme and Gemma Frost their lives. These are personal photos from their parents, shared with Countdown for use in a segment tonight. The children are still suffering today, and if there's any doubt they and their family could use a little help from Uncle Sam, it should disappear after you see these.
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Mission Accomplished, Again : Because one General thinks we have crippled the "Al Qaeda in Iraq" Organization. Even though 98% of the violence in Iraq is unconnected to "Al Qaeda in Iraq". And yes -- it's the same General who essentially declared Mission Accomplished late in April of 2003. Our Fifth Story on the Countdown: a new dilemma for the Administration. The potential for a military declaration of victory in Iraq... But with it the stark realization that a military victory in Iraq is the last thing the Bush Administration wants.CONTINUED >>
It's nice to see that in spite of this , Senator Larry Craig may in fact be an attentive viewer of the hit program Countdown with Keith Olbermann. In a transcript of the interview Senator Craig did with Matt Lauer (airing tomorrow night on NBC ), this quote about Mitt Romney got us thinking...
Senator Craig"I was very proud of my association with Mitt Romney. I'd worked hard for I'm here in the state. I was a co-chair of his-- campaign on Capitol Hill. And-- (LAUGHTER) he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again. And-- you know, you kind of look and blink a little bit."
And from the August 29th edition of Countdown, Keith said the following regarding Mitt Romney's treatment of Senator Craig.:
...and Senator Larry Craig continued. Thrown under the bus by Mitt Romney, now Romney has backed up the bus to run him over again.
And later in the show...
...kind of like Mitt Romney throwing Larry Craig under the bus and then circling the block and driving over him again.
Now, we're not saying with 100% certainty that the Senator is an Olberfan...but it appears he may be lifting more than just toilet seats.
Photo: Dennis Brack / Bloomberg News / Landov
Tonight we'll have the parents of the child who started a thousand smears . You remember Graeme Frost, the 12-year-old boy who was held up as an example of someone whom S-CHIP would be a great help to and who the radical right wing decided to smear. Tonight Keith will sit down with his parents and get their real story. CONTINUED >>
Sweet Sweet Revenge : The man who jokes he used to be the next President of the United States...This morning becoming... the next recipient of the Nobelle Peace Prize. Our fifth story on the Countdown: To quote Martin Luther King, Junior: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice ." Nearly seven years ago Al Gore won the popular vote for President but George W. Bush was awarded the job. Now, history may confirm Mr. Bush as the nation's worst Chief Executive, ever.While Mr. Gore is the recipient of one of the world's most revered honors. CONTINUED >>
Keith will sit down with parents of the boy who was kidnapped and held against his will by the newly convicted slimeball Michael Devlin. The Hornbecks will talk about victims rights...the health of their son, and they'll address the Bill O'Reilly comments that their son 'liked' the ordeal he went through.
Also...more on the Gore in '08 debate. Fresh off the Nobel Prize win...even if he doesn't run, will his endorsement mean sure victory for the Dem that gets it?
Plus, President Bush's Cowboy diplomacy continues to ruffle feathers overseas . This time it's the Russian President Putin getting all fired up at Sec. of State Rice re: Missile Defense shields. Putin threatened to back out of the mid-range nukes treaty signed way back during the Reagan Admin. Could George Bush be the president who helps re-start the Cold War??? Presidential Candidate Gov. Bill Richardson is our guest on this tonight.
Showdown on the Hill : Democrats on Capitol Hill, showing signs of caving in to the president's demand that telecom companies be given ex-post-facto immunity for eavesdropping done on his behalf. The Republicans, showing no signs of remorse... for their smear campaign against a young boy who dared to criticize the president's decision to take away his health insurance. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Apparently the only person not being offered some sort of immunity deal in Washington today... was the only person who shouldn't have to defend himself: A twelve-year-old child. Senator Hillary Clinton, presently, to discuss the day's headlines...CONTINUED >>
We know most newsholers don't always enjoy the Britney news, but when the politics of a court spokesperson creep into his address to the media, it's our job to bring it to light....(see video here )
Don't worry...we'll still have Sen. Hillary Clinton, Howie Kurtz, and more tonight...just thought you all might enjoy this.
Plus...a few lost oddballs after the jump.
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The Senator and presidential candidate will sit down with Keith tonight.to talk about everything from the war, to the imperial presidency, to the Graeme Frost smearing by the right wing.
Also...Howie Kurtz on his new book "Reality Show" and we're working on the details of this story which is fascinating and gross at the same time.
Immunity Now It was five years ago tonight. One of the low-points of the Democracy: like the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. Or the passage of the Alien And Sedition Acts in 1798. Or the declaration of war against Spain, in Cuba, in 1898. October 10th, 2002: Congress voted to give President Bush the authority to use military force against Iraq. On this October 10th, the same President is trying to claim authority that would allow him to spy on Americans without fear of retribution or oversight. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Mister Bush angrily threatened today that he will not sign the new eavesdropping bill for which he drools... if it does not also grant retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies conducting the surveillance. So what exactly would those companies need protection from? CONTINUED >>
KO back in tonight...make sure you stay tuned for the big re-run of the GOP debate afterwards. It was a good one.
Defeat The Press If you had any remaining doubt that the Bush Administration is more interested in issuing press releases boasting of defeating or thwarting terrorism, than it is in actually defeating or thwarting terrorism... you can stop wondering. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the Administration destroyed a vital backdoor channel into Islamic websites, so it could look like big men, on Fox News Channel. It revealed a route to an unreleased Osama Bin Laden video... Of course not long after Fox News found out, so did... Al-Qaeda. CONTINUED >>
David Shuster in tonight for Keith (though Keith did poke his head in now and then).
Crazy 08's : When you're in the race for the White House, nights off are few and far between. And in the 2008 campaign, it has been an especially long haul... with still three months to go before the voting even begins. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Nobody said running for president would be easy. Senator Fred Thompson is now learning the hard way that applause often has to be asked for... and that immortality on Saturday Night Live often comes with a price. On the Democratic side... Senator Hillary Clinton finds herself facing good news... and tough questions. CONTINUED >>
Torture Memos: Day Two : To paraphrase the last president of the United States, whether the Bush administration tortures its terrorism suspects, depends entirely on what your definition of torture... is. It may also depend on whether you are willing to take -- on faith -- despite six and a half years of repeated obfuscations and lies -- the president's claim today that his government is not in the torture business. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Claims, mere talk, all that was forthcoming from the White House today as it was defending its methods for detaining and questioning terrorism suspects... in the wake of yesterday's revelation of secret memos from February 2005 in which the administration secretly endorsed brutal interrogation practices... while publicly claiming all torture, quote, "abhorrent." CONTINUED >>
Department of Just Us The one thing that the White House seems to have learned from its 2004 showdown at the hospital bedside of Attorney General John Ashcroft -- the one that resulted in the near rebellion of all top Justice officials after they refused to authorize the eavesdropping of Americans without warrants... The one thing the White House learned...was to make sure it would never happen again. Not by complying with the legal concerns of the Justice Department, but by installing a new Attorney General, who guaranteed to break whatever laws the White House might wish. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Not merely content to have signed off on the now-infamous 2002 torture memo... Alberto Gonzales... in one of his first acts as Attorney General... approved a second secret torture document in February 2005... endorsing the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the CIA. CONTINUED >>
We'll be all over the explosive NY Times article revealing that the Bush Administration secretly condoned the torture of enemey combatants. We'll bring you all the verbal acrobatics from the White House briefing today , as Dana Perino did her best to put out the fire.
Plus...another bomb dropped in the NY Times . Focus on the Family's James Dobson announcing that his group will endorse a third party candidate if the GOP elects one that doesn't jive with their position on abortion (ahem, Rudy?).
The Limbaugh controversy continues...Rush's home affiliate radio station refuses to play the McGough VoteVets ad .
All that...plus Alex Borstein (aka Ms. Lois Griffin) joins Keith to talk 'Family Guy', Politics, and whatever else comes up. It's going to be a good show.
Here's the Minnesota' Hennepin County court ruling on whether Senator Larry Craig can have his guilty plea withdrawn...the wide stance argument still isn't working.
Because the Defendant's plea was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence, the Defendant's conviction for disorderly conduct occurring on June 11, 2007, in the men's public restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Bloomington, Hennepin County, Minnesota, is valid.
Accordingly, the Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea is DENIED.
We'll see what this leads to regarding Sen. Craig's future. In case you don't recall what the charges were...we direct your attention here.
************UPDATE*****************
Craig will not resign...here's the statement he just released:
"I am extremely disappointed with the ruling issued today. I am innocent of the charges against me. I continue to work with my legal team to explore my additional legal options.
"I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that. As I continued to work for Idaho over the past three weeks here in the Senate, I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively.
"Over the course of my three terms in the Senate and five terms in the House, I have accumulated seniority and important committee assignments that are valuable to Idaho, not the least of which are my seats on the Appropriations Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee. A replacement would be highly unlikely to obtain these posts.
"In addition, I will continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee - something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate.
"When my term has expired, I will retire and not seek reelection. I hope this provides the certainty Idaho needs and deserves."
The Blackwater Hearings : Somebody has some shame. The team of F-B-I agents heading to Baghdad this week to investigate Blackwater security contractors for possible murder... were to be protected by bodyguards from Blackwater. Tonight, breaking news in our fifth story on the Countdown: assistant F-B-I director John Miller issuing a statement tonight reading "to avoid even the appearance of any conflict, the FBI team deployed from Washington to assist the State Department in the events of Septembr 16th, will have any additional security needs provided by U.S. Government personnel." Nobody's saying additional to what? The presumption is, no Blackwater Guards trailing along as the FBI investigates alleged Blackwater murders...But that is not made explicit.CONTINUED >>
***UPDATE**** We'll have the real soldier in this clip on our show tonight...Brian McGough, who Rush Limbaugh likened to a suicide bomber, who took shrapnel from a **real** car bomber in Iraq, will be our guest on Countdown tonight.
President Bush today took out his veto pen for only the fourth time to nix the SCHIP healthcare plan for children. We'll try and figure out why...and talk to former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards.
Also...the Blackwater hearings continue. We'll bring you up to date on today's events on that front, and on the Mukasey confirmation front . Also...new Rush Limbaugh 'phony soldier' developments. Busy show...hope you join us.
Paying For The War Amid reports tonight that the first State Department report about the alleged killing of Iraqi Civilians by Blackwater contractors, was written by a Blackwater contractor...A sobering conflation of the old Benjamin Franklin bromide about nothing being certain but death and taxes. Our fifth story on the Countdown: three Democrats proposing something that might actually stop the madness: an Iraq War... Tax. The burgeoning Blackwater scandal in a moment... First, the proposed answer to the President's four and a half year fraud, that the war in Iraq would pay for itself. CONTINUED >>
Another great show on tap tonight...including more Rush Limbaugh 'phony soldiers' fallout. Votevets.org has a news ad aimed at comedian.
We'll also delve deeper into the growing Blackwater controversy with Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army"
Also, the one and only Chris Matthews (celebrating 10 years of Hardball, don't you know) will join Keith to discuss why the GOP lags behind in campaign cash, and what Hillary Clinton's money victory for the quarter over Barack Obama means.
Plus, a follow on that crazy airport death ...and much much more!!
Target Iran Disproving the theory that President Bush never learns...A report tonight that after the enduring debacle of war against Iraq because of Weapons of Mass Destruction which did not exist...Somebody has convinced him that war against Iran because of the imminent nuclear threat it presents, will not fly...So instead it would be war against Irahn because of terrorist activities by part of that country's military. Our fifth story on the Countdown: more saber-rattling...different sabers. CONTINUED >>
